Don’t let Carnival fun override safety

The Carnival season kicks off this weekend in Lafourche and next week in Terrebonne. The men and women who oversee those parades say they want you to have fun, but they also want you to stay safe.

Chance RyanStaff Writer

The Carnival season kicks off this weekend in Lafourche and next week in Terrebonne. The men and women who oversee those parades say they want you to have fun, but they also want you to stay safe.To that end, the Krewe of Hercules in Houma has opened its doors to area students for two decades. Along with getting a sneak preview of some of the club’s ornate floats, students also get schooled in safety by krewe members. Danny Picou said the classes give practical advice on how to enjoy the parades safely. “We teach the kids not to come too close to the floats,” he said. “We also teach parents to take care of their kids at the parade because a kid will do things they don’t know they aren’t supposed to do, and a parent needs to understand that.” Picou said part of the class involves a parade demonstration in which half the children are placed on a float while the other half remain on the ground as spectators. Krewe members then go over safety procedures with the children as they recreate the parade. The general concern among people responding to The Courier’s Facebook question about Mardi Gras safety issues is riders throwing too hard or too much at once. “I wish big bags of beads were not allowed to be thrown,” said Melanie Galliano, 40, of Bayou Blue. “Some of them weigh a couple of pounds, and it really hurts to get hit.”Monica Crout, 38, of Thibodaux, also said items over a certain weight should not be thrown from a float. “I was holding my 4-year-old when a crawfish sack full of beads was thrown off of the float and hit us,” she said. “If I hadn’t had a firm grasp of him, he would have hit the pavement head-first.”Picou said riders should know not to throw large bags of beads at spectators in a vicious manner and vice-versa. Still, he said, sometimes riders just get caught up in the moment and don’t mean to hurt others who aren’t expecting to have something tossed at them. If misconduct is observed, Picou said, the incidents should be reported back to the krewe clubs, and they will be addressed. An alcohol- and tobacco-free zone will be available at the Good Earth Transit Depot, 7600 Main St., in downtown Houma. Put on by the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council, the barricaded area is meant to provide a safe haven for paradegoers looking for a milder environment to celebrate Mardi Gras.The parades start Sunday in Lafourche. The Krewe of Versailles is set to roll at noon in Larose, the Krewe Des Les Petite Lions will roll at 1 p.m. in Golden Meadow and the Krewe of Shaka will roll at 1:30 p.m. in Thibodaux. In Houma, parades will kick off with the Krewe of Hercules at 6 p.m. Feb. 1.